Treachery
by aminerklarinen
Summary: Sequel to the oneshot I wrote earlier. I made more of an effort into this than I thought. Just think Sasori bully, Hidan bully 2, Deidara victim.
1. Chapter 1

"God, you know what?" Hidan said brassily. "Deidara getting stabbed and all was kind of weird. Any idea who did it?"

Itachi said nothing. He was busy staring into his cup. _Water…_

Kisame shrugged. "He probably stabbed himself. That kid always wanted attention,"

"And what especial attention was he going to expect from such a light show?" Kakuzu put in. He made a neat incision in the steak and popped it into his mouth. "If you ask me, more bloodshed would've been more effective,"  
"Man after my own heart," Hidan quipped, running a finger along one of the blades on his three-pronged scythe. He was the only one who brought his weapon along to the dinner table. Even Kisame left samehada in his room.

"Hmm…," was Sasori's two cents to the discussion. His lifelessly murky eyes were deadpan, and gave away nothing.

After the stab, Deidara had obviously blacked out. He was _still _out. Sasori wanted to make it clear to his budding artist that he was to be obeyed, and a reluctance to comply with what he wanted resulted in a poison-induced coma that would last for about a week. According to Hidan, who was the only one who had visited Deidara since he was "hospitalized", even the hands on his mouths looked sick.

"They were kinda swollen, I guess," he'd said when Kakuzu asked. "Purpley…bluish…lumpy…,"

"Cut the bullshit" Kakuzu had interrupted. "Just say 'bruised' and our lives'll be easier,"

"Hey, you're the one who asked, asshole," Hidan had given Kakuzu the finger before storming towards his room, from which insanely fast (and loud) incantations could be heard minutes later.

Because of Hidan's incredibly observant description, Sasori had to personally visit Deidara later that day to analyze the true extent of the poisoning himself.

* * *

Deidara was lying on his back. The giant stitch that stretched across the left side of his chest was partially obscured by the bandages that criss-crossed neatly around his body. There was a fresh bloodstain on one of them. Otherwise, Deidara appeared to be thoroughly clean.

"Hey, you," Sasori whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed and stroking Deidara's hair. It was one thing that had first attracted Sasori to him. The long, yellow hair. It was mysterious. It was sexy. After a few moments of running a pale finger across Deidara's still face he reached over and lifted one of the sculptor's hands. Sure enough, the edges of the mouth there was "purpley, bluish and lumpy". Or "bruised". It was a deep purple such that it could almost be black. The skin was tough and was overall disgusting. Sasori smiled at his handiwork and carefully used three fingers to open the mouth. It didn't resist. Inside, the tongue was lolling around uselessly, not having anything to do except wait patiently for its exterior to recuperate. It gave Sasori's finger a small lick when he pulled away.

Sasori stuck the licked finger in his mouth and stood up to leave when he saw Zetsu, king of creepy, protruding from the wall. Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Zetsu asked. The light tone made it clear which personality was speaking to Sasori. He waited for the sharper version of the question but it didn't come.

He said nothing, choosing to avoid Zetsu's interrogative question. Since the other guy seemed to suspect him already, what was the harm in stretching that suspicion? Not like he was going to do anything about it.

"It could only have been _you,_" came the nasty remark from black Zetsu Sasori had been waiting for. _Now _it was going to be an interesting conversation. "You're the poisons expert here. Those hands were a dead giveaway,"

"Really?" Sasori said, smiling a little. "The bruises on his hands? Couldn't they have been caused by, you know, an experiment gone wrong in the workshop of Iwagakure's _bombing _expert?"

"Heck no," Zetsu snapped. "They wouldn't cause bruises. There'd be cuts and such. Incisions into the skin. Shrapnel doesn't cause bruises, dammit,"

"You sure?"

"Yes,"

Sasori paused, his mouth grim. Then the corners turned up in a sly smile. Life returned to his eyes again, making them appear somewhat watery and shimmery.

"Well, you never know. New types of clay bombs?"

"Pfffttttt," Zetsu offered. But he let it go. His form molded into the wall again and Sasori knew he was gone.

_Too easy, _Sasori thought. He wasn't stupid enough to directly poison Deidara. That was too obvious. He'd chosen the least externally potent of his poisons and had used one of those that attacked a person's insides rather than cripple them on the outside. He knew that the bruises were just about the only thing that would show on the surface. Inside, Deidara's blood was circulating slower, which Sasori had confirmed when he'd touched his hand; it was icy cold and hard to the touch. Deidara was also low on blood, which Sasori had tasted through the saliva he'd tasted from the lick he'd received. It had that metallic taste in it that Sasori had counted as a symptom of the poison.

_Perfect, _he thought. He got up and gave Deidara one last look before walking away.

Deidara was having morbid dreams. About Sasori. Of course the fucking puppeteer didn't even relent when it came to taking over his brain and mind _as well as _his body.

Dream Sasori spoke to Deidara in the exact same tone as Real Sasori did. He taunted Deidara. He was telling him that the next time would be worse until he made the next time they did it better.

"I mean…come on, Deidara," he was saying. "If you want it, why hide it? It's only natural,"

Sasori was back in his own room, sitting amongst his vast collection of golems and wondering about just how he was going pass the time until Deidara came to his senses again. It was only a little more than a week but Sasori knew he wouldn't be able to last that long without touching a body that wasn't his. And despite popular belief, he wasn't going to have sex with his puppets. That was called necrophilia, and Sasori didn't do necrophilia. He considered trying the other Akatsuki members but none of them were as easy to approach in such a way as it was to Deidara. Sasori knew there was something up with Itachi. He saw the appeal of the Uchiha, pale skin, jet black hair, interesting eyes, but it didn't _speak _to Sasori. Itachi Uchiha would be a good fuck, given his mystery, but he wasn't exactly Sasori's type. Sasori liked to be fully in control. Itachi wasn't going to hand that control to Sasori on a silver plate. He wanted to be in control, too, Sasori could see that. Kisame was a goddamn _demon shark _and looked kind of…lumpy…and Hidan? Hidan was just—

_Hey…_Sasori thought, another devious smile creeping across his delicate, boyish features. _Hidan…_


	2. Chapter 2

Hidan was never a priority. Or a choice. But when it came down to either Hidan or nothing, Sasori preferred the former. He approached Hidan's room; half expecting to hear the mindless chanting that usually came from it but instead heard nothing. As he stood outside the door ready to walk in, though, he heard the subtle but obvious drip of blood to stone.

He opened the door patiently and saw the Jashinist keeled over, his back to Sasori, who could make out the tips of the three scythe blades protruding from Hidan's flesh.

"Oh, fuck…,"

Hidan got up slowly and wrenched the enormous weapon from his body. Sasori heard the tearing of flesh, saw the splatter of blood against the walls, but didn't flinch. He'd skinned, disemboweled and basically emptied people out for a living. Ripping flesh was nothing.

"So Sasori," Hidan said, without turning around. He seemed to be touching his new wounds in self satisfaction. "What do you want?"

"Your senses are more acute than you give them credit for," Sasori replied. Hidan was the one who was always giving random remarks about how he was the slowest and least intelligent Akatsuki member, no matter who gave a fuck. And most of the time, nobody really did.

"Serious?" Hidan turned around and Sasori could see the complete extent of Hidan's sacrificial handiwork: there were nine holes of the same size, with one much larger one where his heart was. Blood was dripping in their individual torrents from each wound, rippling down Hidan's chest, leaving translucent red trails in their wake. This blood was always left untouched until the next day, and turned a crusty brown which had used to disgust Sasori a bit…until now.

Sasori folded his arms and watched as Hidan sorted himself out. He propped the scythe against the wall and was wiping his hands off on his Akatsuki coat. After a few more pats of cloth here and there around his fingers, he lifted an outstretched hand to his face and inspected it.

"Oh fuck it all," he said, looking over his broad shoulder and grinning widely at Sasori. He seemed pleased to have a visitor into his little lair, someone he could complain/curse/talk to without being threatened to be chucked into an incinerator if he didn't shut the hell up. "You know what I hate? Despite the popular belief that I'm a human cesspool?"

Sasori shrugged, smiling wanly. "Enlighten me,"

Hidan walked over, his steps loud on the stone floor. Sasori couldn't help but notice how…_buff…_and big Hidan looked. With his pale hair slicked back and upper body in full view Sasori had a new found liking for the Jashinist. Even if there _was _still random shit running down his chest and soaking into his pants.

He held his hand up to Sasori.

"Blood under the fingernails," he said. "Hard to remove; especially when it's all dry. I hate it,"

"It isn't so hard with water," Sasori said, looking at his own fingernails. They were painted black, and for a fleeting moment, Sasori thought of Deidara.

"I know," Hidan replied. His voice was the same as ever: loud, cocky with a slight whine to it. "But sometimes it sinks into these little cracks, and…,"

Hidan stopped midsentence. He looked at Sasori curiously. "Wait a minute. Why are we having a perfectly normal conversation all of a sudden?"

Sasori shrugged. Hidan's eyes narrowed for a moment, but then he relaxed again.

"I know why," he said, walking over to his bed and sitting down, elbows on his knees. "It's 'cause Deidara's out cold, and you've got no one to talk to anymore. So you come to the most rambunctious of the Akatsuki to look for some company. Am I right?"

Sasori smiled inwardly. _Sort of…_

Hidan shrugged at Sasori's irresponsiveness and looked down at his pants, shrugging at their filthiness.

"Well, if you've got nothing for us to talk about…,"

"No, I do," Sasori held up a delicate hand and walked over to Hidan, who was watching him with curiosity. The puppeteer put a finger on Hidan's chest and circled it around the largest wound, watching as the blood collected on its pale tip. Hidan, on the other hand, felt himself inhale quickly at Sasori's touch, which was odd. He didn't do that when Kakuzu touched him.

_But then again, what Kakuzu does isn't actually just "touching"…_Hidan's mind kicked in. _The contact of his body to mine lasts for split seconds and hurt like fuck._

He refocused his attention back to the irresistibly petite framed _boy _in front of him. It was weird; Hidan knew that it was only the body that looked young. Inside, Sasori was a thirty-something year old _man. _It was like a dream. His mind kicking into overdrive with an inner-monologue detailing how much Hidan wanted all of a sudden to experience Sasori, he grabbed Sasori's tiny wrist and kissed him. Aggressively.

_Well it looks like your straightforwardness isn't only restricted to your fighting…_Sasori mused happily as Hidan poked around inside his mouth. He could tell the other guy hadn't done this before; it wasn't the fact that his tongue was all over the place but it was because all it had taken was a simple touch to a sensitive spot. And Sasori didn't even choose _that _sensitive spot. He hadn't wanted to. If he had and Hidan went apeshit, Sasori was dead. The only reason he could do it so directly to Deidara was because Deidara had shown signs of repressed interest before. And because Deidara was kinda easy to coerce.

Sasori felt Hidan's muscled arm press against the small of his back as he pulled the redhead in. Hidan's body had an entirely thrill to it; he was broad and felt tough. Nin like Sasori and Deidara had softer bodies because they hardly fought up close. Hidan's fighting style wasn't exactly hand-to-hand, weapon-against-weapon either but his body had to endure all sorts of jutsu in order to defeat his opponent. So not only was it really damn broad it was hard. In a good way.

It wasn't long before Sasori felt the blood sink into _his _coat. It was thick, and it soaked up liquids readily. Sasori used his free hand to wrench the buttons undone and let it fall to the ground. Hidan had moved onto Sasori's slim neck and was positively biting into the soft flesh. Sasori closed his eyes and let himself experience, for the first time, not being in control.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! Just a random comment...**

**The idea of the Akatsuki members actually gathering together at a dinner table and eating set meals is somewhat unrealistic, but it was the only way I could have them all together without having them sit in a living room watching TV or knitting...**

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* * *

  
**

Because Hidan was such a, well, Hidan, no one ever really ventured near his room. Akatsuki members were all for the calm and collected look, not wanting to say things that were unnecessary. So privacy wasn't the problem. The problem was whether or not to do it right there or wait until night time, where they could do it for much longer and make the experience more fact that it was going to be dark and the only light that would guide them around each other's bodies was the torch that hung above a little shelf in the wall that Hidan had put some random, thick book (which Sasori supposed was some sort of book relating to Jashinism) in. Other than that, there was nothing.

The idea of doing it, for the first time, to both men felt somewhat thrilling and extremely tempting. So they decided to hold the action, until after the Akatsuki members gathered for dinner

* * *

"Why, Hidan," Kakuzu had growled the minute Hidan shoved the chair away from the table and sat down on it. "You look positively ecstatic,"

"Isn't he always, though?" Kisame said, rejecting the proffered barramundi fillet from Itachi, who wordlessly put the plate of the fish back down the table and began eating his own. "He's probably just done something like eat his own intestines,"

"Close," Hidan grinned, his eyes trained on Sasori as he lifted a cup to his lips. "Not nearly as cool, but twice as badass,"

"That ain't badass," Kakuzu retorted, sounding somewhat annoyed. "Itachi's the badass here,"

"That so?" Hidan said, his mouth suddenly crammed full of food. The extreme loss of blood equated to an extreme appetite. "What'd he do now? Kill his baby bro?"

"This is a pointless conversation," Itachi offered.

"He didn't do anything," Kisame said, ignoring Itachi's comment. "He's just badass,"

"Because he killed his entire clan, then," Sasori said, voicing the answer that he knew nobody else had the balls to say. "Except his little brother,"

There was silence.

"Fuck you," Itachi said. Sasori was pleased to see that the curse wasn't directed at him, but at Kisame, who grinned in satisfaction.

"Sorry," he said, exchanging a glance with Kakuzu, who appeared to smile beneath his mask. "Kakuzu and I had to,"

"And since when did you and my partner get so buddy-buddy?" Hidan demanded, forking the last barramundi fillet and dousing it with salt. "He's _my _best friend," he added jokingly.

"I'm no one's best friend," Kakuzu commented nonchalantly, his hands clasped around his cup, which was filled wih warm tea. Kisame opened his mouth to say something when a voice interrupted them.

"Well, well, well," Pain said. "It's surprising to see you all in such high spirits...and getting along so well at the same time,"

"Leader," Hidan swallowed a mouthful of food and pointed his fork at the orange haired Nin. "You're too late for dinner. I just ate the last piece of fish,"

"I'm not hungry," Pain said, smiling a little. "I've just come to inform Kisame and Itachi that you have a new mission. It's small, but it's adequate,"

Inside, Itachi was thinking _why us? _But out loud he said "Okay,"

"About time," Kisame quipped.

Pain nodded, expressionless again. "I'll brief you later...," he turned to Hidan. "Enjoy the rest of your dinner, Hidan,"

"Yeah, bye," Hidan said, without looking up from his plate.

* * *

As soon as they'd returned to Hidan's room, they had been about to continue where they left off when Kakuzu entered the room. Thankfully, they hadn't been standing very close at all.

"Sasori?" Kakuzu looked surprised. "What are you...actually never mind," he turned to Hidan. "Hidan. Just telling you that tonight, I don't want a peep coming from you. Last night was bad enough,"

"What happened last night?" Hidan asked, feigning obliviousness. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at him.

"Quit the attempts at humour," he hissed. He looked at Sasori.

"Did you hear him?"

Sasori shrugged. "I couldn't say I did,"

"Well you try being in the room next to him," Kakuzu commented. "I bet you'll want to kick his ass too,"

"Well, he's next to fucking Deidara," Hidan said. "He blows up shit all the time. I think me practicing my religion doesn't quite measure up,"

He looked to Sasori for confirmation. Sasori smiled.  
"It's not so bad,"

"You're just saying that to not choose sides," Hidan whined. "Come on, Sasori, just say what you want,"

"Shut up, Hidan," Kakuzu said. "He can say what he wants. Which means he can say nothing if he wants,"

"You're being so _fair _to Sasori. Why aren't you like that to me?"

Kakuzu said nothing.

"Fine. Be quiet," Hidan said, crossing his arms across his chest. The wounds were still visible, their rims caked with copious amounts of drying and dried blod. It was somewhat disturbing to look at.

"I'll leave you two to it," Kakuzu said, his unusual eyes glancing between Sasori and Hidan. _An odd pairing..._he thought. "Whatever you're doing,"

Hidan waved him off. "Asking him about his painful poisons,"

Kakuzu nodded. _That makes sense. _

He left, closing the door behind him.

Silence.

"So," Hidan said loudly, turning his head and grinning widely at Sasori. "Where were we?"

* * *

**Another Authors' Note: **

**I know, I know. You guys hate my, er, I suppose "cliffhangers". But it feels that it should end the chapter on this note. I promise the next chapter will be satisfying for all of us! (Especially for our two leading men...haha) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning: graphic content. Even I was a bit squeamish penning this chapter…or maybe that was just me being nervous about my family members walking past me to grab a glass of water and catching some of what I was writing…how embarrassing if that were to happen…**

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* * *

  
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"Does this mean he won't be hearing a 'peep' from you tonight?" Sasori asked as Hidan entwined one one of his fingers in the redhead's hair.

"Who knows?" Hidan let his hand drop and he grinned at Sasori. "Who knows how loud we'll get?"  
Sasori smiled, looking down at the ground. "Not that loud of course,"

"Who said?"

Once Kakuzu had gone, Hidan had basically pinned Sasori down the same way he pinned down his battle opponents and victims. He'd thrown the scythe at him, which, of course, missed him intentionally. Sasori had stepped to the side for safety, closer to the wall.

Ultimately, Hidan wanted Sasori sandwiched between him and the wall.

Sasori brought his lips close to Hidan's, paused, then moved past that and towards the Jashinist's ear. He breathed on it for a while, then, without warning, yanked Hidan's pants down.

Hidan looked down. Then he smiled at Sasori. "God, you're so straightforward,"

"I know what I want," Sasori said softly. His breath tickled Hidan's earlobe, thrusting him into a higher state of excitement. He practically ripped Sasori's Akatsuki coat off and pressed the puppeteer's lean body as close to him as possible. His years of avid religious pursuit had stripped him of anything even remotely related to a sexual relationship. Let alone one that he was going to have with _another guy._

For the first time since embarking on the path that Jashinism took him, he felt like he'd actually been missing out on something. He paused for a moment, relaxing into the moment, enjoying the heat of Sasori's body, not to mention the sheer _feel _of it. Wasn't it the body of an early teenage body? Hidan smiled to himself, his lips on Sasori's shoulder. The other guy was completely still, too, his hands resting on Hidan's hips, deliciously close to his crotch.

"Let's go," Sasori said. Hidan took a quick breath and closed his mouth over Sasori's.

* * *

Deidara's eyes were open, but he could barely move. He stared at the murky blackness above him and could just make out the ceiling. He tried his left hand. It felt swollen. The only thing he could feel was his tongue there, moving uselessly. He tried his other and achieved the same results. He closed his eyes. His lips barely moved when he hissed;

"Fuck,"

* * *

He knew no one could hear him.

It didn't take long.

Sasori was widely known as Sasori of the Red Sand, a man whose prowess with puppets was unparalleled, but those who'd slept with him knew that even his control over marionettes couldn't be compared to how he acted when he knew he had full control over someone who had a mind of his own.

He had let Hidan do the whole kissing thing for a while, then he'd traced the middle of Hidan's tough chest with a finger, down to his navel, and then—_finally—_down to the Jashinist's…thing.

"_Fu—_," Hidan began as Sasori opened his mouth. He instinctively glanced up in direction of the door. He had to relax and enjoy this damn thing.

Sasori had never officially tried giving blow jobs; he'd always been the one to receive them. He never demanded them, either, the ones he chose had always been reluctantly eager. Thus, they gave them to him without him saying anything anyway.

It was a good characteristic to have.

It just didn't work on Deidara.

Anyway, after all his past experiences he was pretty sure he had the knowledge to give a good one: but, needless to say, he wanted to be different. He wanted to be _better…_and achieve results faster, of course.

Sasori closed his eyes and caught the big organ in his mouth. Hidan watched, his head bent over, with a half-dreamy, half-curious expression on his features. He didn't know what the fuck Sasori was doing: licking, sucking, slowly running his teeth over the skin there or whatever but it felt _damn good. _Most of all, it just felt warm and wet. And not with what you'd first think it was…yet.

They hadn't reached that point yet, but it wasn't in the distant future.

At first Sasori was not used to the foreign object inside his mouth, but he soon realized why so many of his past lovers wanted _his _dick inside _their _mouths so badly. One of his hand were keeping at steady but soft grip on Hidan's penis while the other was pressed on the ground, supporting his weight. He could feel one of his fingers twitching. Perhaps with delight at the new experience.

The redhead licked the underside of the shaft, running down its length with his whole tongue, and left with a flick of his tongue at the tip; Hidan swore again and took a step back as he became agonizingly hard.

It was the first time in a very, very long time.

Of course when he became a Jashinist he didn't lose his sexual side completely; he'd played around with himself just like any other guy next to him would. He'd once asked Kakuzu if he did while they were on a particularly going-nowhere-fast mission and the old geezer had glared at him and told him to "shut up". Hidan just shrugged and assumed he did, no matter how gross the idea seemed. He hadn't thought it was something be ashamed about. But then he had the idea that maybe Kakuzu had lost all feeling _down there _ages ago, so maybe he didn't.

Sasori sat back and relaxed into the wall. He smiled somewhat arrogantly and stared at his handiwork.  
"Like it?" he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Hidan was too consumed in the height of his erection to even bother to try and answer: Sasori didn't wait for one, either; he got up, unable to wait until Hidan had sorted himself out.

"Not done huh?" Hidan managed,; his voice was weak, but he was smiling. His hair was slightly messy, having been combed through by Hidan's fingers numerous times during the previous intimate scene, and loose strands were hanging about Hidan's forehead and in front of his ears rather than behind. Sasori reached up, tucking a lock behind the Jashinist's ear.

"No," he whispered back. He and Hidan exchanged charged stares for a moment. Then Sasori looked over Hidan's shoulder and nodded at the bed.  
"Get over there,"

* * *

Deidara wasn't making any progress. He was still utterly paralysed—_useless. _Of course, leave it to Sasori to leave no loose ends. He didn't even let Deidara's _voice _function properly let alone any of his limbs. His blonde hair was all over the place, making his nose itch. He wrinkled his nose in an effort to slide the hair off.

* * *

Kakuzu had been up all night so far. He had been listening for any sounds coming from Hidan's room, wanting any opportunity to go in there and find out what the hell was keeping Sasori in there for so long.

* * *

Itachi and Kisame had left the lair at midnight sharp. The mission requested a separation at some point. Itachi planned to go off course for a bit. He could easily make up for the time. He just hoped that Pain hadn't commanded Zetsu to follow them this time. Last time, Itachi had noticed that the guy was following them practically as soon as he and Kisame had stepped onto the dirt path a ways from the lair. He hoped this time would be the same. He needed to pay a little visit to Suigetsu Horuki*.

* * *

Sasori lifted Hidan's hair off his neck and, starting from the other guy's shoulder blade, he ran his tongue up until he reached the back of his jawbone, just beneath his ear lobe. Hidan's hand tightened around a patch of his bedspread, forming a vicious fist that, along with a shuddering groan, told Sasori that Hidan was readier than he could ever be.

"I'm going to do it _now_," Sasori whispered, watching as Hidan burrowed his face into the pillow, wanting to muffle whatever was going to come out of his crude mouth when Sasori fucked him. He knew Kakuzu was listening. He always did. So he was taking precautionary measures. If he was alone he would've let it go and not cared how loud he was being, but he was with Sasori. It was different. It was…_suss._

Without further ado, Sasori thrust in. He didn't do anything for a beat to let Hidan get used to him. After all, before now, nothing had gone _up_ there. He waited a little further, then did it again.

Again…and again…and again.

* * *

*I was really tempted to put this in: that Itachi had to visit Suigetsu. It's a reference to another piece of work of mine if you didn't know so it didn't make sense :)


	5. Chapter 5

Sasori's head pounded as he made his way back to his room from Hidan's. He pressed a hand against his temple and continued on, trying to ignore the migraine that was threatening to come on. _Why the hell do I feel…sick_? He supported himself with an arm against his doorframe and squeezed his eyes shut. _This is rather inconvenient…_

The night had been longer than he'd anticipated. Turns out Hidan was a pretty…_hungry…_to say the damn least. Unlike Deidara, he had fully accepted the fact that he was into Sasori, and had succumbed to that desire in the moment it took to snap one's fingers. Sasori knew Deidara was definitely into him, _everyone _was once they got a little taste, but apparently he'd rather die before admitting that he was. It was damaging, apparently, to be one of Sasori's lovers. Even though the information was withheld and was even made public, Deidara still hated it. He didn't care if no one knew, if he knew inside that Sasori could make him do anything, even _that, _then he was ashamed inside and out. He couldn't hold his head high anymore.

At least, that had what he had practically spat to Sasori before the redhead had touched him.

Stumbling back to his bed, Sasori felt his jolts of sharp pain shoot up his body. The excessive chafing had left him feel raw all over. It had been that rough. He smiled as he fell into the soft sheets of his bed. It felt welcome and extremely comfortable against him—it felt more like silk than linen—and he sighed loudly, in pleasure. He rolled around to get into a more comfortable position when he felt a presence at his door. He opened one eye lazily.

It was Kakuzu.

"Call me nosy," the man said, his deep voice loud and clear in the silent room. "But what made you not get out of Hidan's room until…," he paused, formulating an educated guess at the time it was. "…3 am,"

"It's three?" Sasori said, writhing a little in his bed so that he was both in a suitable position for a long slumber and so that he wasn't flashing unnecessary bits of flesh to Kakuzu. After all, his pants _were _pretty loose. Hidan had proved that.

Kakuzu shrugged and said nothing.

"Like he said," Sasori continued breezily. If anyone could keep a poker face the longest out of the Akatsuki, it was Sasori, who rarely changed his expression anyway. "Discussing my _poisons_,"

"From eight pm until 3 am," Kakuzu countered. "That's seven hours. With Hidan,"

"You've spent seven days with him before,"

"Yes," Kakuzu agreed. "But that's because we're partners. We have to," he paused, his alien eyes piercing Sasori's. "You two chose to,"

"So what if we get along nicely," Sasori said, closing his eyes, a hand still pressed to his temple. _I could die for an ice pack right about now…_

"Too nicely," Kakuzu said. He paused, as if uncomfortable with his sudden jab at the possibility that Hidan and Sasori had done something a lot more than talk about toxic substances. _But I can't be sure _he thought, chiding himself. _Couldn't risk it. _

"Think whatever you want, Kakuzu," Sasori said, his breath becoming slower and louder as he lapsed into sleep. "All I care about is the truth, not people's opinions,"

Kakuzu nodded slightly and left without another word.

* * *

By the evening of the next day, Deidara could move. Albeit _extremely slowly. _Every move he made sent pain shooting through his body. He was sore all over. He had mouth ulcers, for God's sake. He walked stiffly into the room that was reserved for eating and Kisame greeted him first.

"Our resident little boy has awoken," he joked. "He doesn't return a man, though. He's still a boy,"

Deidara didn't bother. He caught Itachi's eye. The Uchiha was somehow welcoming to look at. He didn't look pitiful, and he didn't look disgusted, which was more than what Deidara could say for the other members of Akatsuki. In fact, Itachi looked…_friendly. _The heavily lashed, feminine eyes seemed to say "I'm glad to see you're okay,"

Deidara offered him a weak smile, which he couldn't tell if the Uchiha returned or not, and pulled back a chair. His usual place, beside Sasori, who, after a whole damn night of reflection, he'd decided to give the cold treatment until he felt fully healthy again. He groaned loudly and slumped over the dinner table, his fingernails brittle for all to see. Hidan laughed loudly.

"Maybe you should go back to bed,"

Deidara didn't say anything. They might've thought he was dead if it wasn't for the rise and fall of his shoulders as he breathed into the polished wood of the table.

"Deidara?" white Zetsu asked gently. But even that got no response. Hidan opened his mouth to say something when Itachi broke in.

"Just leave him alone," he said in his smooth, low voice. "He'll come to his sense on his own,"

Hidan shrugged. "I was just offering a little encouragement, Itachi. No need to sound so _nasty_,"

Sasori inspected Deidara out of the corner of his eye. He looked positively sick. Even though he was no longer paralysed, he still looked…broken. There were bruises on the brink of being fully healed along his arms and they seemed more thin and scrawny than usual. Even his hair had lost its usual perkiness, and was seemed kind of dry. Sasori wondered if he'd used way too much poison. But then he shrugged inwardly. It wasn't like he could reverse what he'd done.

Deidara groaned again and got up, swinging himself back into his chair. "Fuck my life,"

"Hey, go ahead," Hidan said. "Develop that attitude into a suicidal one. Then I can use you for sacrifice, or…," he glanced lewdly at Sasori, who smiled at the Jashinist's suggestive tone. "…my other pleasures,"

Kakuzu froze.

He hadn't been the only one to catch it. Itachi felt his insides grow uneasy. He looked at Deidara, Sasori and Hidan in turn. _Something's up…_he then glimpsed at Kakuzu. It seemed that _he _knew something too.

Deidara himself felt something hot spreading through his body. At first, he thought it was one of the side effects of Sasori's poison but he then realized it was just him feeling ashamed. He coughed noisily into his hand as he choked back the urge to cry.

Sasori ignored the cough and took a quiet sip of his drink. He'd expected Deidara to blow him up as soon as he'd seen him or at least acknowledge him with a trademark Deidara glare but the Iwa nin didn't. It was rather surprising. Not to mention disappointing. Sasori wanted any opportunity to rile him up even more so that he'd have this volatile little thing in his bed to fuck.

Hidan's lascivious eyes passed over Sasori, who looked nonchalant and mysterious as ever, and then landed on Deidara. He was sick all over, and that in itself made him somewhat attractive. It made him look weak and powerless. Hidan could totally play with him if he wanted to and he couldn't fight back. Deidara's red-rimmed eyes moved up to meet Hidan's. Hidan felt a sharp pang as their eyes met, even though the exchange of glances only lasted about two seconds. It was because of a sudden realization. Hidan's brow furrowed as he recalled what he had just seen.

Deidara's eyes had been lifeless.


	6. Chapter 6

Once everyone had left, Deidara started moving around the place himself. He needed to eat something—desperately—in order to replenish himself. He knew he was running low on blood _and _chakra. He'd seen the way he bled all over the floor when Sasori had stabbed him. Massive loss of blood had been the first effects of the poisons. For a moment, he'd wondered who had cleaned up the floor. Hidan or Zetsu probably. Hidan because he might've done something crazy with the blood, like dab it onto a tree branch and splatter the blood everywhere, and Zetsu because…well, Zetsu ate everything. Then he wondered who cleaned _him _up. He had no idea who that would've been.

He found a large piece of steak and chucked it onto the counter, where'd already placed a carrot, half an onion, minced beef and a leek. He had no idea how to cook or any idea what he was going to do with the minced beef, especially in combination with steak, but he decided to give it a try. _I just need something chunky and filling, anyway _he said to himself, heating up the frying pan he coughed again, this time involuntarily, into the back of his hand. He coughed a few more times, feeling his throat heat up and mucus being thrown up. He felt saliva—or, at least, something wet—splatter onto his hand. He pulled his hand away.

Blood, mucus.

It wasn't anything surprising but Deidara felt vexed all the same. _Fucking Sasori _he thought, wiping the stuff hastily on a nearby paper towel. He saw the blood smeared across the material and touched his stomach absentmindedly. He hoped he wasn't hacking up tissue or something.

"Are you okay?"

Deidara looked up from the paper towel. It was Itachi Uchiha.

_So I didn't imagine his concern…_

"Sort of," Deidara said, nodding at the stained paper towel. Itachi's eyes flicked between it and Deidara's mouth; his lips were dry as hell and there was a little spot of blood on the corner. He considered reaching over and wiping it away for him, but at the last minute he forced himself not to. _You have someone already._

"Well, do you need help?" Itachi offered. "You don't want to be coughing all over your dinner, do you?"

Deidara smiled. It was a small smile, but it was genuine, and it made his previously void-like eyes sparkle back to a life a bit. But just as quickly as it had come, the glint was gone. He covered his mouth with his hand again, expecting another wave of blood, but it didn't come. He set his hand weakly on the counter. His fingers trembled quite noticeably.

"I might be fine by myself," he said slowly. He glanced tentatively up at Itachi. "We were never great friends, Uchiha,"

Itachi shook his head. "No," he agreed. "We won't,"

"Yet you read me like a book,"

"What?"

Deidara had to tell someone. And, even though it would never have occurred to him before, not in a million years, right now he knew that Itachi was his most suitable confidante.

"Tell me you _didn't know _Sasori did this to me,"

He held up his hand, showcasing his injuries. Itachi's eyes ran down the bruises, saw the red patches on his collarbone, and travelled down Deidara's bloodstained bandages. According to Konan, he had been stabbed in two places.

"I always knew Sasori was an underhanded one," Itachi said. "And he didn't need an excuse to poison someone. But is there a reason for this?"

Deidara nodded. He lifted a finger to his lip and dabbed at a spot. His lip had been bleeding.

"I'd rather not tell you. I'll leave you up to your assumptions," he leaned against the counter, arms crossed. For someone who looked so unwell, he'd managed to keep his voice clear and his words coherent. "But I didn't follow his rules. He punished me for that,"

"Something so simple?"

"It's Sasori. He's a ba—,"

Itachi held up a hand. "I know…,"  
"Know what? That he's a born son of a bitch or you know what happened?"  
"Let's just say both,"

Deidara nodded, unsure. "Shoot,"

"What? Pitch my idea?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Isn't that bad for your health?"

Deidara lifted up the paper towel he'd been using, which had been used multiple times by that time. "Nothing gets worse than this,"

Itachi took a breath and slid the medium rare steak onto a plate. Deidara didn't look like the type to like bloody steak—that was Zetsu—but he'd reassured Itachi that that was the way he liked his meat.

"I saw some stuff go on at dinner," Itachi began.

"You're pretty darn observant that's for sure," Deidara said suddenly, smirking. "You'd need to be, right? With the Sharingan, it's hard not to be on the ball,"

"I guess," Itachi said. "But what I noticed…there's definitely something going on between Hidan and Sasori at the moment,"

Deidara's face darkened. "You reckon?"  
"I don't reckon, I'm sure of it,"

"And it's hard to doubt an Uchiha, right?,"

"When Hidan said that he would've used you for his…,"

"Yeah," Deidara said, blushing a little. He turned away and coughed, then turned back, completely composed. He had a hand to his throat. "Continue?"

"He was looking at Sasori. The types of looks you know mean something. The types that hint at a past…I don't know. There's just something,"

"I get what you mean, don't worry,"

"And Kakuzu," Itachi continued, noting that he sounded concerned and was somewhat eager at pouring all his information out for Deidara. He was actually feeling pretty frustrated. "He knows something,"

Deidara laughed. Itachi had hardly ever heard Deidara laugh a laugh that wasn't an expression of evil intentions; this one sounded _happy. _

"Old man Kakuzu knows something? Why do you think that?"

"Same reason as I think there's something between Hidan and Sasori. I saw it,"

"Like I said," Deidara whispered. "You see everything…but," he walked over to the steak and poked it with a fork. "Tell me the whole cause for all this sneaky business,"

Itachi looked away. He didn't want to say it. It was somewhat…embarrassing. Even for him. He wondered how Deidara felt. Obviously, he shouldn't feel embarrassed. He himself had a relationship with another guy.

"You and Sasori did something," Itachi began. "And by something I mean…,"

Deidara's skin prickled in anticipation.

"It,"

"Don't be immature, dammit," Deidara snapped suddenly. "Say it,"

"You two had _sex_?"

"It wasn't _sex," _Deidara slammed his palm angrily onto the table. He coughed a little, but this time Itachi could tell it was because he was choking on his saliva.

"It was _rape_,"

"Wait, what?" Itachi's eyes widened momentarily as he processed the information. "Rape?"


	7. Chapter 7

_I…did _not _expect this…_

"Yes, it was _rape_," Deidara said. His eyes heated up as he recalled the shame. "He forced me to. I didn't want to, I mean, God, yeah I did want to, but—,"

Itachi reached over for the other guy but stopped himself. _Should I touch him? _He left his arm half out stretched, then relaxed it by his side again. _Maybe not such a good idea…_

"—I didn't want to,"

"Deidara…,"

"Yeah, stupid, right?" Deidara said, laughing a little. His eyes, Itachi noticed, had turned even more lifeless than it had been before. _Can he even _see _me? Or is he looking through me? Just listening to my voice? _"A guy like me. I act all tough on the outside, I blow up shit and I waffle on about art," he crossed his arms. Itachi could see the goosebumps that had crawled across his skin. "But you can get what you want out me, apparently. Sasori got what _he _wanted. I doubt any of you will have any trouble,"

"That's…I won't exploit my power like that,"

"Sure you won't," Deidara said, no note of sarcasm in his voice. "But Sasori did,"

"And he poisoned you because he raped you, not you guys had sex?"  
Deidara shrugged. "Basically,"

Itachi felt his insides flare up. He tried to imagine himself in Deidara's position. It was…_outrageous. _He thought of Suigetsu. _I would never rape Suigetsu. Ever. _

"That fuck—,"

"Itachi Uchiha!" Deidara exclaimed, grabbing Itachi's arms in a tight grip that Itachi didn't know he had the strength for. "You swear?"

"What?" Itachi said. What was up with Deidara's behaviour?! "Swear, what? Yeah I do swear. But—,"

"I'm trying to look positively here," Deidara said, releasing Itachi. "I don't want to think about it,"

"Aren't you worried about Sasori?"

"He won't try anything until I'm healed," Deidara said, his voice full of confidence. "He said that himself, the little arse,"

Itachi nodded, not knowing what he should say. He imagined Sasori touching Deidara in the wrong way. He imagined Sasori grinning at his own power over Deidara as he made the other boy do what he didn't want to do. Last of all, he imagined Deidara in pain because Sasori was—

"It doesn't hurt to be on guard though?"

"Hey, how about this," Deidara said, suddenly serious. "We let this rest for a while. Bury it in a shallow grave. Let me get over it,"

"I'm not arguing," Itachi said, putting up both his hands in mock surrender. "I'm just up for whatever it takes for you get over it,"

Deidara nodded, a sad smile on his face. "Thanks, Uchiha," he rubbed his forearm, where the bruises were. Itachi winced. They were disgusting. He walked over and put his hand on Itachi's shoulder. His face dangerously close. Itachi could smell the blood. "Sasori's just trying to get a reaction out of me. That's why I'm not acting like I usually do,"

Itachi nodded in agreement. "I would've expected something a little more loud. Like actually talking to him at dinner,"

Deidara chuckled. "I've got a good hold on my self control, no? Anyway, if you ever see me pop a vein, about to erupt at Sasori, or Hidan, or whatever…,"

"I'll…fireball you?"

Deidara patted Itachi's shoulder. "We understand each other perfectly,"

Deidara decided to just eat at the kitchen counter. He couldn't be fucked moving four plates to the dinner table only to move them back when he was finished. He shovelled a bunch of peas into his mouth and chewed, trying to relax himself. He felt somewhat at peace despite what had happened. His body was still aching and his lips were dead annoying but all he wanted right now was to _not _give Sasori the show he wanted. Deidara lifted a hand up to his face and rubbed the mouth against his cheek. The tongue licked at his skin affectionately.

"At least you're still healthy," he said.

"You talk to your _hands_?"

Deidara looked up and, after seeing who it was, returned his attention back to his dinner. After hearing about Itachi's observation on Hidan's charged glance at Sasori, he didn't want to talk to the Jashinist.

"Oh come on, you little fucking baby," Hidan said, flexing his muscles with bravado. He just had his pants on again. Deidara had noticed his multiple torso wounds at dinner. They were not in the process of healing, but Hidan had obviously tampered with them recently and there were several circles of blood around them. "Don't start ignoring me because of what I said at dinner,"

"It's not because of that," Deidara said, looking up for a moment. Hidan grinned at the brief span of attention. He liked it.

"Oh right," Hidan went on. "You just have a stick up your ass, don't you?"

Deidara said nothing. Hidan's hand trembled impatiently. He wanted to do something…bad. Part of him told him he was being wrong, but he never listened to that part.

"Hey, Deidara," he said.

Deidara put down his fork with a clatter. "What do you want, Hidan?"

Hidan glanced towards the door for a second. Like he had with Sasori, he wanted to make sure _no one _was around to witness what he was about to do.

"Isn't it obvious?" he said, grabbing a knife and plunging in into his left forearm. Deidara reeled. _What the fuck? _"I want _you_,"

"What? No," the tongues in Deidara's hand licked around quickly, sensing their owner's sudden discomfort. "You weren't being freaking serious,"

"Oh, I freaking was," Hidan said, yanking the knife out with a grunt. He inspected his new wound. He didn't know why he had just done that. It had just felt like he needed to. _A sign, Jashin? _

"Go back to—," Deidara stopped. If he told Hidan he knew about him and Sasori then Hidan would figure out that something had gone off between him and Sasori. Even an idiot was able to make that assumption. Deidara might've be able to say that he heard them, but he wasn't completely sure they actually had sex, and he had been bed ridden the entire day. It wasn't a plausible explanation. Hidan didn't notice. The Jashinist just inspected the bomber's bandaged chest enthusiastically. His eyes glittered with hunger and malice. He really wanted to get a good look at those wounds.

"Come here," he said, trying to make his voice neutral so that he didn't come on too keen. "For a sec,"

Deidara's skin prickled with déjà vu. _Fuck, fuck, fuck…Itachi…_

He took a breath and wondered if he should play along with it. If he didn't, Hidan would probably confide in Sasori and he'd be poisoned…again. But this time, wouldn't it be different? Itachi knew, and apparently Kakuzu had his own suspicions. But…

Deidara felt that odd urge to comply again. He'd felt it on the night with Sasori. His own body was telling him to go, but his mind was screaming at him to stop. It was annoying. It was unfair. He had just gotten over Sasori, he didn't, he couldn't—

"No seriously," Hidan said, his voice lowered. He looked serious. Like he did when he was in battle, ready to rip his opponent to shreds as he screamed in ecstasy. "Get the fuck over here,"

Deidara steeled himself. He had to do it. _No, wait! _Something inside him yelled. _You idiot! Don't you dare…just walk away from him!_

_Right. Walk away. _

Deidara glared at Hidan and walked over to him. He gave the Jashinist the more forceful shove he could muster.

"Fuck off," he hissed. He walked away.

Hidan watched the clay bomber leave with half interest, half annoyance. So he had gotten excited for no reason?

_No _he thought to himself, rubbing the part where Deidara had touched him when he gave him a push. _Unless I die tomorrow, Deidara and I are _definitely _having a little us time._


	8. Chapter 8

"Kakuzu,"

Kakuzu turned around from the table he'd been standing over and when he saw Itachi, his face seemed to relax.

"Itachi,"

"I came here to ask you of something,"  
Kakuzu cocked his head slightly. Itachi looked at the table he'd been standing over. There was a scalpel, scissors, and a small blade lying alongside numerous instruments which looked like they belonged on a surgeon's office. Lying a ways from the neat array of the tools was a large white box. It was just big enough to hold…

…_a head. _Itachi thought, trying to ignore it.

After a silence that reeked of suspicions, Kakuzu spoke up.  
"What is it?"

"Yesterday," Itachi began. "I could tell you knew something was up with Hidan and Sasori,"

Kakuzu's shoulder twitched.

"So you do?"

"Of course," he said. "I know Hidan inside out, whether I like it or not. He is my partner,"

"What do you know about them that I don't?"  
Kakuzu shrugged and picked up the scalpel. He inspected its fine blade before putting it back down again.

"Sasori was in Hidan's room the night before. Didn't leave until a full seven hours later. Apparently they were discussing his poisons,"

"And obviously, they probably weren't?"

"No shit there,"

Itachi nodded, absorbing the information.

"What do you want to do about it?"

"You heard Hidan say some weird crap at dinner to Deidara,"

"Sure," Kakuzu said. "Who didn't?"

"And I'm going on a mission soon. I want you to keep an eye on Hidan…and Sasori,"

"Babysit them, you mean?"  
"Not so much. Just make sure they don't do anything to Deidara…anything that you won't do,"

Kakuzu shrugged.

"Will you?"

"Sorry, Itachi. But only Hidan is my business. He's my partner, after all, and though far too talkative he is the only one I've been paired with that I haven't killed yet. We have a good working relationship, as far as they go. But Sasori and Deidara are none of my business,"

Itachi flinched inwardly at Kakuzu's attitude.

"Why are you asking me to take care of Deidara anyway? Last time we all checked, you and him hated each other…_deeply, _to say the very least,"

"What if Hidan does something to Deidara? Will you stop him?"

"Itachi…," Kakuzu's tone was almost exasperated, but not quite. "You know I don't do this shit,"

"Can't do it, or just don't want to deal with it?"

"Both," Kakuzu answered.

Itachi's chest heaved in disappointment.

"I have to go," he said, and left.

Kakuzu shrugged and turned back to his table. He unlatched the white box and produced a human head from inside it.

* * *

When Deidara woke up, his mouth felt like it had been basted with nail polish. He brushed his teeth furiously, trying to get rid of it. Yesterday night, which he should've spent sleeping unperturbed, was plagued many coughing fits, all of which upended more crap from his throat. He wondered if this was just his body's way of ridding any leftover spores of the poison: making him throw up everything that was inside it, or if it was just another of Sasori's disgusting ways of making him _pay._

He grabbed the nearest shirt and headed towards the room where they all ate—it was hardly a dining room given its lack of homeliness—and was tugging it over his shoulders when he entered.

"Well if it isn't our little sunshine," Hidan leered, downing what Deidara knew was a sugar-free, milk-free coffee and shoving a piece of toast into his mouth at the same time. Hidan swallowed. "Good morning,"

Deidara didn't respond and instead walked over to the fridge, unscrewed the cap off a new bottle of milk and poured himself a glass. He sat in his usual place, beside Sasori, grabbed a piece of toast off the stack of three in front of him, and crammed it into his mouth. Even though it was unbuttered, it was salty in his mouth.

Sasori's face was blank as usual, his eyes bored, mouth in a thin line. He was tracing a finger along the rim of his own now empty cup.

"Fine, _bitch_," Hidan said when he saw that Deidara had no intention of answering, his mouth still looking uncomfortably full. "Just trying to be nice for once,"

Kakuzu said nothing. He was still thinking about what Itachi said to him. He was never one to freely give out favours, but for some reason, in this situation, he felt as if it was going to be all his fault if something _were _to happen between the three other guys in the room.

"Are you going to talk at all?" Sasori asked, tilting his head slightly to look at Deidara. The bruises on his arms had faded significantly to an undetectable shade, and some bounce had returned to his hair. Nevertheless, he still looked positively sick.

Deidara shook his head and drank the rest of his milk. Then he got up and left the room.

"Little bastard," Hidan commented, his eyes trained on Deidara's back as it retreated down the hallway.

"Chill, Hidan," Kakuzu warned. He made a neat incision in his bacon, ridding it off the excessive fat, and put it in his mouth. He'd made his decision not to interfere. He already had enough to deal with.

_Sorry, Itachi. _

_

* * *

  
_

Deidara was sitting upright on his bed, propped up by a few pillows. He held out his hand in front of him, fingers splayed. They trembled.

He sighed heavily and glanced over at the pile of clay that was practically begging to be used. He picked up a small amount delicately between his fingers and tentatively placed it onto the tongue in his right hand. Its teeth met slowly, aware of Deidara's weak state, and soon maintained a smooth albeit considerably slow rhythm. Deidara then thought of Hidan's words yesterday.

_You talk to your hands? _

Not caring about the sensitivity of the bruises that surrounded the mouth in his hand, he wrenched out the half-chewed piece of clay and threw it at the wall angrily. His injured hands stung in response to the sudden, sharp movement.

**Author's Note: Yeah guys, if you go back to Chapter 3 you'll recall that Itachi has a mission to go on...**


	9. Chapter 9

Sasori's body grew hot as Hidan climbed on top of him. He groaned happily at the feeling of the Jashinist's weight on him.

"God, Sasori," Hidan said, looking down at Sasori's crotch. "You're not even fucking aroused yet,"

Sasori didn't reply, instead, he grabbed a lock of hair that was hanging in front of Hidan's ear and tugged on it, pulling Hidan's face down onto his again. After seeing Deidara in nothing but bloody bandages and a pair of loose-fitting pants, he was feeling fucking horny. Hidan let out a muffled moan and shifted a little on the bed in response.

"You think?" Sasori said when he was done. He licked his lips and sat up. Hidan pulled himself off the puppeteer and chuckled.

"Nah, I take it back,"

Sasori smiled and nodded. He still found it slightly hard to believe that he and Hidan were of such like minds. It had really only been two days ago that he would never have thought of imposing his sexual advances on the Jashinist like this. He'd always assumed that his religion prohibited it.

_Obviously not…_Sasori thought.

"So," Hidan began, brushing loose hairs back with a hand. "What'd you think of Deidara yesterday? And this morning? Fucking hot, much?"

Sasori let out a rare laugh. "And you say I'm too straightforward? God, Hidan,"

"Jashin," Hidan corrected, wagging his finger at Sasori. "And yeah, I was always impulsive. I'm just _saying _exactly what I think about that blonde kid,"

"Then yeah," Sasori said, covering his mouth with a hand as he went slightly red and grinned widely. "He was—is—hot,"

"So it's not just me," Hidan said, scratching his nose. "Wonder if anyone else thinks so. Itachi?"

Sasori shrugged and put his hand on Hidan's navel. "I don't care about Itachi,"

_Frankly, I hate his fucking guts. He's too pretty to be a man. _

"Really?" Hidan said, not noticing Sasori's sudden scowl. The Jashinist watched as Sasori slid his small hand from his navel onto his groin.

"Sssshhh…," Sasori slipped his fingers beneath Hidan's pants. Hidan's eyes widened when they closed around its target.

"Fuck," he breathed.

"Sick," Deidara shook his head. He looked down at the tissue again. Now the blood was starting to come out in clumps. He crumbled the tissue into a ball and threw it capably into the bin, which was across the room. He had a headache, not to mention the sore throat as a result of him coughing too darn much. He tried clearing his throat, with miniscule success, and turned his attention back to the pile of clay in front of him. He'd sort of decided not to have anything to do with clay until his hands had been fully healed, but he couldn't help it. His creative energies were positively begging him to get working again, and he couldn't say no in the long term.

Completely unaware of the scene that was unfolding in the adjacent room, that is, Sasori's room, Deidara's mind started to think of all the things he could make within a day with injured hands. He peeled off a sizeable lump of clay and decided it would be fun—and distracting—to work on something bigger than what he usually made. He coughed once more into a fresh tissue, pausing a moment to examine the stuff that had just come out from his mouth, then slipped his fingers into the moist, slightly cool clay.

It was a nice feeling.

"We just did it in broad-fucking-daylight," Hidan said cheerily, swinging his legs off the bed and pulling his pants back on. Sasori's usually bored eyes flicked eagerly over the Jashinist's broad back. His slightly damp skin was taut over obvious packets of muscle. A few, faint freckles dotted his shoulders from prolonged exposure to the sun, and there were many irregularly shaped scars etched across it. Sasori reached over and touched the one nearest to the base of Hidan's spine.

"Hey, don't do that," Hidan said, turning around and grabbing Sasori's tiny wrist. "Or I'm gonna get turned on again and we're gonna have to fuck again,"

"Fine by me," Sasori said, smiling and pulling his wrist free from Hidan's grip.

"Yeah, but not by _me_," Hidan groaned as the fabric from his pants brushed against his skin, which was raw from chafing. "I'm already freaking tired and I've got another man to satisfy, you know,"

"Who?"

"Jashin, you douche,"

"Oh right," Sasori said, sitting up and brushing the clumps of hair that had been plastered to his cheeks by sweat. "Him,"

"I'll see you later, yeah," Hidan said, flinging his Akatsuki coat over his shoulder. He smirked in contentment at the sight of Sasori's tiny, blemish-free frame stretched out before him. From his vantage point, he could see everything. There was nothing he hadn't touched once. Once Sasori was naked, Hidan didn't know where to start or where to finish. He grunted as a sign of displeasure at having to leave before turned around and walking out.

He passed Deidara's room on the way and couldn't help but look in. He knew he was already behind on the Jashin rituals anyway, and it didn't hurt to be a little later than he already was.

Deidara's skin prickled, and he knew instantly that someone was watching him. Rather than tell the person to fuck off, he didn't. He decided it was better to ignore the person, particularly if it was Hidan. The more you talked to him, the more he said back.

Another perverted smile returned to Hidan's lips when he watched Deidara tense, then relax. He knew he was there, but was choosing not to anything about it?

_How cute _Hidan thought. He couldn't stop the smile from evolving into an all-out grin that said nothing than _I really, really want to sleep with this guy right here. _He covered his mouth with a hand and tried to compose himself. Jashin apparently didn't want his followers to be such high spirits when they offered him their flesh and blood.

_Don't worry, Deidara _Hidan thought as he flung his coat onto the floor, reaching for his three-pronged scythe. _I'll just get you tonight…_


	10. Chapter 10

_**That night**_

"You're so damn persistent,"

"And that's a bad thing?"

Hidan shortly wondered why Deidara wasn't barraging him with the defiant and get-the-fuck-away-from-me attitude he had yesterday; today, he actually sounded kind of fatigued, like he was going to cave and give Hidan what he wanted.

Hidan licked his lips.

"Hell yeah," Deidara gave Hidan one last look before turning around, taking a step back, and examining his new art piece in full view. "Because with a person who's overly persistent to another for something, they become annoying,"

"So you're saying I irritate you?"

The thought itself was kind of sexy to Hidan to the extent that he kind of wanted himself to be a source of Deidara's frustration: he could imagine himself pissing the artist off, and the artist coming over to him and giving Hidan the chance to pounce—well, he could do anything, really. On the other hand, it didn't have to require physical contact, even though that was definitely preferred. Deidara, amidst his tantrums directed at Hidan, could very well suddenly realize that he had feelings for the Jashinist, which would eventually resolve in _really good sex _from all that withheld passion and emotion.

Deidara was oblivious to Hidan's suddenly dreamy expression.

"Yes," he replied, his voice clipped as he turned back to look at Hidan, his eyes narrowed. "I do,"

Hidan let the response sink in for a moment. Then he decided to kiss Deidara.

_Won't hurt to try…especially if you're me _

In comparison to all Hidan's other ventures, this one had to the biggest, and thus the kiss was gentler than anything he'd ever done. It was even gentler than what he did to himself when he was feeling sexually needy. Okay, so even then he wasn't _that _gentle but he did go easy on himself when he knew it was going to hurt a little.

Deidara himself was also surprised not only at Hidan's deft motion, but also at how lightly the Jashinist's lips were brushing against his. So much that he didn't retaliate immediately. He almost wanted to strengthen the kiss—that is, wrenching Hidan's lips _apart _so they could do some proper "kissing"— altogether because it was way too subtle for his taste but decided against it. Hidan was just looking for permission.

He let the moment linger for a few more seconds, relishing in it a little himself, then pushed Hidan away.

"Enough," Deidara said, smiling a little at the confident authority in his voice.

"Aw," Hidan said, his jaw aching from constant grinning. "I thought we were getting somewhere,"

"Well it's not getting further than that," Deidara answered readily. "Now get the fuck out of my room,"

Hidan, surprisingly, heeded to Deidara's command. For reasons not even the man himself could comprehend, he didn't…_jump_ the Iwa nin like he'd thought. He touched his fingers to his lips. They felt somewhat softer after the kiss. It could just be his imagination, but…

"Hidan,"

Kakuzu's form stepped out from the shadows. His eyes examined Hidan's now slightly blushing face.

"Did you just…come out from Deidara's room?"

"Pft," Hidan said, regaining his usual "tough" exterior. "Yeah. I did. Where else? The wall beside Deidara's room? I'm not fucking Zetsu, you know,"

Kakuzu didn't flinch at the backlash.

"Why were you in there?"  
"Just paying him a visit,_ mum_," Hidan said, pushing Kakuzu out of the way and walking down the hallway.

Kakuzu's brow furrowed. He looked away from Hidan's retreating back and at Deidara's room.

_Maybe it's time I find out for myself. _

"Kakuzu?"

Deidara looked suspiciously at Kakuzu, who was standing silently at his door way, his shoulders slightly hunched.

"Deidara…a question,"

"What?"

"Hidan,"

He got the reaction he wanted. Deidara's face froze in a display of displeasure.

"What about _him_?"

"He was in your room just now,"  
"No need to sound so accusative," Deidara said. "He just came to annoy me, as always,"

"That's it?"

Deidara nodded slowly, as if bored of Kakuzu's presence.

"That's all Hidan does, right?"

"Not according to Itachi, he doesn't,"

Deidara's eyes narrowed. "Itachi? What has he got anything to do with this?"

His tone was surprisingly cold.

"He came to me before he left. He told me to keep an eye on you,"

"And are you?"

Kakuzu paused. "No," he answered softly. "Not really,"

"You're the type of man who doesn't really like taking orders from people who aren't exactly your superiors, Kakuzu…why are you listening to Itachi?"  
"Didn't want to," Kakuzu answered readily. "But it was disturbing me all the same. I wanted to find out if it was true, and only that," he added earnestly.

"Do you think Hidan will do anything?"

Kakuzu paused in thought.

"I wouldn't care," he said. Deidara said nothing to that, which Kakuzu took as his cue to leave.

* * *

Hidan looked at the wound he'd made in his arm the night Deidara had first woken up and walked into the dining room, his scarily gaunt frame for all to see. It was positively miniscule in comparison to the fresh ones he'd just made. He touched it lightly and wondered what had made him do it. But, then again, he was always doing random things. Once, when he was helping Itachi peel the carrots, he'd thought it would be fun to use the peeler on himself. It had been fun while it lasted, until Itachi had saw what he'd done. Hidan didn't even remember what he was doing actually _helping _someone with the preparation of dinner, but he had a feeling it had something to do with him pissing of Kakuzu too reached over for the roll of bandages on the table beside him and got to work patching the arm wound up.

* * *

"Zetsu,"

Deidara watched as the unusually shaped man's form appeared from the ground. He knew that Zetsu was hardly ever "home", but he also knew tonight he was.

"Deidara?" white Zetsu spoke first. "You're fine now?"

"Yeah, I'm mostly fine," Deidara said, rubbing his chest a little. "Hey, I just need to ask you a question. It's about Itachi,"

"Seems a lot of people wanna know about him these days," black Zetsu quipped.  
"What is it?" white Zetsu asked.

"His mission," Deidara began. "How long is he going to be away from here because of it?"

If Zetsu was suspicious of the question, he didn't show it.

"Two days, knowing him and Kisame," black Zetsu said in a half-growl. "They're pretty efficient,"

"Yeah, probably," Deidara said thoughtfully.

Zetsu could practically hear the Iwa nin's brain thinking, and wondered if it had anything to actually to do with Itachi…or just Itachi's superiority in skill over Hidan and Sasori.


	11. Chapter 11

Deidara always slept with a shirt on, unlike most of the other Akatsuki: it was an insecurity thing. He pulled his headband off, raking his fingers through his hair. He was about to untie it as well when he heard a movement at the door. He turned around to face...

"And what the hell are you doing here?"

Sasori shrugged at the unwelcome tone and stayed put.

"Would you believe me if I just wanted to bid you good night?" Sasori didn't wait for an answer and glided over to Deidara. He reached up and touched the blonde hair that he so liked.

Deidara shuddered a little and took a step back, Sasori's fingers slipping.

"Don't go away," Sasori said softly. His small lips curled in an arrogant smile. "Even if you do, _you know _I can get you,"

"Shut up,"

"Tsk, tsk," Sasori clucked. "No need to be so rude, especially to _me. _I'm Sasori no danna, remember?"

"That was _before _I realized that you were a raping son of a b—," Deidara stopped.

Sasori's face darkened momentarily, his eyes flashing. Then he smiled again. "If I wasn't a raping son of a bitch," he said, his voice slightly clipped. "Then you would never have lost your virginity. Or experienced such ecstasy,"

"But rape isn't the way to have someone experience that,"

Sasori spread out his arms. "Since when did I ever think about the cons of what I was doing? Do I look morally perfect to you?"

"I don't care. I just…I _hate _you,"

"Deidara_…_," Sasori said, growing a little desperate. He tried not to let it show, but in comparison to his usual, relaxed disposition it was kind of hard not to notice it. He reached over but Deidara moved away. Sasori saw a brief strip of skin bare itself as the Iwa nin shifted. It was a clean patch, one without any bruising or dried blood.

"Yeah, Sasori? Get out,"

"You don't want me to get out,"

"I do. Get out," Deidara's voice was almost a growl, but his eyes were pleading.

"You…don't…," Sasori took a step with each word. He was now close to Deidara. He put his hand on the hem of Deidara's thin shirt: from up close, he could see his bandages through it. "…want me to go," he finished. With that, he quickly slid both his hands beneath the shirt and pressed his fingers delicately against the slightly frayed bandages. He felt Deidara sharply inhale beneath his touch. He inched his fingers up. Wounded or not, if he and Deidara were going to do it tonight he didn't want anything to get in the way. Including bandages.

Deidara opened his mouth, then closed it. Again, he didn't want to do it, but for some reason this time he felt…more comfortable with it. Like he didn't care anymore because he'd already done it with Sasori, and how did it hurt to do it again? He wondered if it was just him thinking with his penis rather than his head, but when he consulted his mind it said: _just go along with it. _He almost rolled his eyes at his body _and _mind being such a bitch to him all of a sudden. _So am I meant to do it with him or not? _

"Hey," Sasori said quietly. "I think you're getting a little…,"

"What?"

Deidara snapped out of his reverie and looked down. _Oh fuck. Great timing._

"Hmmm…," Sasori liked the look of Deidara's pants at the moment, the way it looked when he was having an unexpected erection. The way Deidara was breathing was kind of hot, too. Not that he hadn't heard it before. But it was always music to Sasori's ears when he knew that the boner was induced by him. Sasori slid his pointer finger over the bump, smiled and pressed it against his own crotch. He closed his eyes.

_Mmmmmm…_he thought, cradling his head a little into Deidara's shoulder.

Deidara didn't even move. He couldn't. Not this time. It was different. This time, there was no actual…force. There was no forcing from Sasori. There were darkly seductive taunts flowing from Sasori's mouth into Deidara's ear. There were subtle licks of the ear, no hands down pants without permission.

It actually felt nice having Sasori pressed against him like that.

Deidara brushed his hand against the back of Sasori's neck. The redhead pulled away and looked at him. Eyes blank, as always. If it wasn't for the fact that Deidara could practically feel his heart beating, he would've thought Sasori was bored.

"So," the puppeteer entoned. "Do you want me to go now?"

Deidara didn't say anything, but brought his mouth close to the other boy's. He gave Sasori a few short, light kisses. He felt his hard-on deflate. His shoulders grew less tense.

"No," he said finally, his breath tickling Sasori's lips. He'd come to the decision that, even though it seemed kind of ironic, he was going to let Sasori have his way. He didn't know why himself. He didn't even do it with Hidan, but here he was. Maybe it was just Sasori. But with Sasori came the memory of the other night when the puppeteer had completely ignored his "fuck off""'s and utterly disrespected him when he screwed. Deidara almost wanted to kick himself for letting himself succumb to Sasori…_again. _But maybe this time if he did it differently, he could actually enjoy it.

_You know what? Fuck this. Forget the other night…_

Deidara felt his head pound as he became more straightforward than he had ever done before: he brought his own pants around his ankles and then reached for Sasori's. With a quick yank he had them off.

_Now we can do this properly…_

Sasori was surprised. He would never have known Deidara had it in him if he hadn't experienced it himself. He gulped in anticipation. This Deidara was vastly different from the Deidara he'd taken the innocence out of a few nights ago. Perhaps that was why. Now that the Iwa nin had gotten a little taste, he wanted some more. It was always the case with the younger guys that Sasori chose.

This Deidara was almost fierce. It was kind of daunting. It meant he was unpredictable and virtually relentless, which meant...it was going to hurt. Sasori had never really let anyone do anything to him other than a blow job, but he had the feeling that Deidara wanted to do _more._

"Come _on, _Sasori," Deidara gave the puppeteer a nudge with his knee and nodded to his bed when he looked up.

"Serious?" Sasori asked. "Aren't you angry at me because of that other—,"

"Shut up," Deidara said, his fingers brushing against one of Sasori's inner thighs. "Do you want to ruin it for yourself?"

"No," Sasori replied seriously. "But first, take off that shirt,"

Deidara did as he was told. He threw the shirt onto the ground and fingered his bandages.

"What about these? Knowing you—,"  
"Take those off too," Sasori interrupted. He slid his fingers beneath one hastily and tugged at it until it loosened. He worked with that and pretty soon they were hanging limply from Deidara's unusually scrawny frame. The gashes in his chest and stomach made Sasori feel a pang of guilt which quickly dissolved into the thin air when Deidara led Sasori to his bed and pulled the puppeteer on top of him.

He had no idea what provoked Deidara's abrupt change of heart, but he was thankful for it.

He slid his hand behind Deidara's head and enacted his fantasies out all over again.

**EDIT: Yep, Deidara seems pretty, er, confused. But he's smarter than he appears. Who knows? Maybe he's playing Sasori back...**


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning was one that was plagued with a rain storm.

Deidara, once again, made an intense effort to clean his mouth. After what happened yesterday, how he thought, what he did, he wanted to not only forget it but wanted to rid his body of everything.

For a moment, he wondered if he was developing a dual personality, just like Zetsu.

_Yeah _a voice inside him remarked sarcastically. _One side of you is an uptight little bitch who never has any fun and the other one is, what, a slut? _

Deidara rolled his eyes and inspected his arms. Ever since he'd woken up from the poison induced coma he'd done the same thing every morning. The bruises were hardly visible anymore, but when he touched his skin it was still kind of lumpy.

_Why can't Itachi come back _today?

Sasori walked slowly through the small extension he had installed at the back of his room. In it, shelf after shelf of toxic substances in vials and capped flasks, begging to be used next. Some he had absolutely no use left for, they were far too weak now, and others were far too dangerous: using them on enemies would affect him, too.

Sasori picked up one. It was the one he had used on Deidara. He wanted to work on this one: he wanted it to have more side effects. He smiled at the little vial and swirled it a little, watching the colourless liquid move.

He didn't notice that some was gone: a little less was in it now than yesterday, when he had been asleep in Deidara's room.

Hidan was sitting silently at the table when Kakuzu entered. The Jashinist looked somewhat melancholy, if that was even possible: no, Hidan just looked kind of…okay. Kakuzu had to admit it, no matter how scary it seemed. Hidan was looking _depressed. _

"Oh. Hey Kakuzu,"

Hidan lifted a hand in acknowledgment, but otherwise didn't do anything else. He just continued staring into the white void that was his coffee mug.

Kakuzu tried to think up all the possibilities that could explain Hidan's early morning state of looking stricken: maybe Jashin said he couldn't go to Jashin heaven or something…or, maybe he discovered that he could no longer stab himself without bleeding to death.

Frankly, all the theories Kakuzu could think of were related to Jashin in some way. Not to mention extremely shit.

"Hidan," he began slowly, unable to believe that he was extending his concern to _Hidan. _"You're not talking,"

"Huh?" Hidan looked up, his face blank. Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. This wasn't just another act of pretend cluelessness from his partner. It was very real.

"I said…you're not talking,"  
"Oh," Hidan said, snapping his fingers. "Well, um, I'm not feeling that great today,"

"Hidan-wise, or health-wise?"

"Since when was there a difference?" Hidan replied, a little, well, Hidan-ness returning to his voice. Kakuzu almost smiled. _Almost. _

"Fine. Where aren't you feeling that great?"

Hidan bit his lip and scratched his hair furiously before answering. He put his hand over the wound around his heart.

"Riiiightt here," he announced, looking forlorn again.

Kakuzu didn't know what to say. He nodded unsurely and picked up the coffee jug, where a dark brown residue had collected at the bottom. He waited for Hidan to elaborate on his sudden discouraged state, but he didn't. Kakuzu wasn't exactly the type you'd spill your worries on.

"Fuck!" Hidan collapsed face-first onto the table. Kakuzu was somewhat amused by his antics and decided to watch to see what his partner would do next. He rinsed out the coffee pot and put it upside down to dry. He wasn't one for dirty dishes.

He opened a couple of drawers, found a small bag and emptied its contents—tea leaves—into a small porcelain cup. He poured boiling water on top and covered it with its matching lid. Hidan had always teased him and paid him out about his matching tea sets but today, it was obvious he was too busy wallowing in self-pity.

Kakuzu waited for his tea to infuse as he watched Hidan out of the corner of his eye.

Deidara had taken a shower earlier that morning but decided he didn't feel clean enough. He turned it on full throttle and stepped into the cold spray.

Kakuzu ended up transferring his used tea leaves to another cup.

It was for Sasori, who had just entered the room. If the redhead registered Hidan's strange behaviour, he chose not to show it. There was no chance in his expression, no cock of the head, and no furrow of the brow. He was damn good at being completely lifeless.

_Just like his puppets…_Kakuzu thought, raising the cup to his lips and taking a sip.

But he did ask about Hidan's behaviour after a while.

"What's with him?" he asked, biting into a small biscuit. Kakuzu had no idea there were biscuits in the kitchen. He briefly wondered if Sasori had his own stash of cute little biscotti and monte carlos hidden in some unknown nook in the cupboard. He also noticed that Sasori had really, really small teeth.

_That's right _he thought. _He's still a child…at least, physically, he is. _

"No idea," he answered. "I came in and here he was, like this,"

"You know," Sasori said, lifting up the lid to check his tea. "If he was normal, he would've demanded that we both stop talking about him like he's not in the room,"

"But he hasn't," Kakuzu agreed. _I wonder…_

"Hmmm…," Sasori mused. He removed the lid and moved away from the counter to place it in the sink. It made a tiny _clink. _

Then he left, tea cup in hand, the steam wafting in the air.

Kakuzu returned his attention back to Hidan.

_Seriously, what's wrong with him? _

Itachi didn't know what to expect. He could tell he and Kisame were nearing the lair already. The operation had taken as long as expected and there had been no problems or unlikely hitches along the way. He glanced sideways at Kisame and pressed on. He hoped Deidara was okay.


	13. Chapter 13

Itachi and Kisame returned to a silent lair.

Kisame had promised himself sleep and tromped off to his room without a word. Itachi felt the urge to check on certain…people. He passed Hidan's room, found the Jashinist sleeping in a fairly uncomfortable looking position, and then stopped outside Deidara's room.

The blonde had healed considerably. He was happy to see that. He walked into the room and was almost frightened when Deidara's eyes flicked open.

_What the _hell_ happened to his eyes? _

The other day, they had been lifeless. Blank and glassy. This morning, they just looked…

"Hey," Itachi called out gently. He walked over and tried to ignore the unnerving sight. _That fucking Sasori…_

"Don't,"

The word came out frightened, cold, and bitter. Itachi stopped in his tracks. Deidara propped himself up achingly slow. He winced a bit and Itachi saw his arms tremble as they supported his weight.

"What happened?"

"Don't…ask," Deidara cupped a hand over his mouth and his chest heaved. The movement was reminiscent of someone throwing up after too many drinks.

"Did Sasori—?"

"Don't even mention his _name_," Deidara wiped his now bloody hand on his blanket, where Itachi could detect other traces of wiped blood. He was sitting still, his breathing unnaturally loud. Itachi took another step forward and saw Deidara flinch, as if Itachi's movements actually caused him pain.

"He did it again," Deidara said finally. "Sasori,"

The Iwa nin glanced up at Itachi. Again, those eyes pierced Itachi's in the most unsettling way. It probably wasn't even the way Deidara was looking at him. It was probably just the eye itself.

"Are you blind?" Itachi asked softly.

Deidara closed his eyes and touched a finger to one of them lightly. He took a deep breath before answering.

"Temporarily, I think….I've seen him use this poison before. He said it wouldn't last long, but the pain—,"

"Stop,' Itachi growled. He swept out of the room, the air suddenly crackling with undisguised aggravation. The Uchiha was going to ask Kakuzu something, then he was going to give Sasori a little _punishment _of his own.

_How dare he… _Itachi thought as he hurried along, his cloak swirling dramatically around his legs as he walked. …_that little—_

_

* * *

  
_

Deidara opened his eyes again and grinned.

_Perfect _he thought.

* * *

Sasori didn't know it was coming before it was way too late.

He had just been waking up when a form walked—no, _stormed—_into his room. He had just enough time to register that it was Itachi Uchiha when he heard the five words that would inevitably end in his death.

"_Fire Style: Fireball no Jutsu!"  
_

Hidan stopped short in the corridor just in time to catch the sight of the huge ball of flame release itself upon the room. He saw Itachi's calm form standing there. The Uchiha turned around.

"He deserved it," he said shortly. He walked to Hidan and cocked his head. He was strangely out of character. He reminded Hidan of a psycho, unstoppable yet supremely intelligent serial killer. Hidan knew that Itachi was already intelligent, but since when was he psycho?

"Did _you _do anything to Deidara while I was gone?"

Hidan froze. A flash of a sudden recollection that yes, he did, crossed his face, to which Itachi reacted to equally quickly.

"So you did?"

"H-hey…look," Hidan took an involuntary step back. "I didn't…you know…,"

"Good," Itachi put a hand on the Jashinist's broad shoulder. "Because if you did, you'll end up just like Sasori over there,"

He laughed a little. It was a weak, exasperated, unsatisfied laugh. "Now get the fuck out of my way,"

* * *

Deidara had heard everything that happened. Sasori was only in the next room, after all.

_And no longer…_he thought. He spat a mouthful of blood that had collected under his tongue and picked up the vial of liquid he had taken from Sasori's room the night before. It was damn worth it. He'd thought of other ways to keep the puppeteer continuously distracted in the least suspicious way possible, but there were none that proved as effective as sleeping with the man. It was when his guard was the most low. It was when Deidara knew it was the perfect time to wait until the puppeteer lulled into sleep and for him to sneak into his room and take a small amount of the poison.

After that, it hadn't been hard.

All he had to do was take the poison a few hours before Itachi returned. Then, when the Uchiha did, he would fake that Sasori had raped him—again—and Itachi would then, without a doubt, take action on this.

Deidara just didn't know that he would go so far as _killing _him. But of course, he had no complaints.

Now all he had to do was wait until his sight returned. Then everything would be perfect.

The end

* * *

**And that's it! For this story, anyway. Don't forget about Hidan's sudden angsty show at the dinner table. That'll come in a sequel…which I'll get around to. It just didn't seem right to put it in here. It ruins the atmosphere...anyway, hope you enjoyed it.  
**


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